Device for use in cooking and slicing hams and other meats



J. G. JONES. DEVICE FOR USE IN COOKING AND SLICING HAMS ANDIYTHER MEATS. APPLICATION FILED APR. 28. I920.

1,431,234. Patented 0Qt.10,1922.

4 SHEETSSHEET I.

: HHHHI HHHHHHH J. G. JONES. I DEVICE FOR USE IN COOKING A ND SLICING HAMS AND OTHER MEATS.

Patented Oct. 10, 1922.

4 SHEETS-:SHEET 2. b7

John eozye James J. G. JONES. DEVICE FOR USE IN 000mm; AND SLICING HAMS AND OTHER MEATS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 28. I920. 1,431,234, Patented Oct. 10, 1922.

@SHEETS-SHE-ET 3.

J. G. JONES. DEVICE FOR USE IN CDO KING AND 'SLICING HAMS AND OTHER MEATS. APPLICATION FILED APR.2a-. 1920. 1,431,234; Patented Oct. 10, 1922.

4 SHEETSSHIEET 4.

. E E 75/222 'ewye 051165 Patented Get. 10, 1922.

STATE JOHN GEORGE JONES, OF SHOTTON, NEAR CHESTER, WALES, ASSIGNOR TO SCIENTIFIC COOKING- DEVICES LIMITED, OF CHESTER, ENGLAND.

DEVICE FOR USE IN COOKING AND SLICING HAMIS AND OTHER MEATS.

Application filed April 28, 1920.

(GRANTED UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF THE ACT 01? MARCH 3, 1921, 41

T 0 all whomit may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN GEORGE JoNns, subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at Shotton, near Chester, in the county of Flint, Wales, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Devices for Use in Cooking and Slicing Hams and Other Meats, of which the following is a specification.

Prior to this invention the usual method of preparing ham for sale in slices consists in the first place in removing the ham bone,

rolling the ham, and enclosing it in a holder which bindsthe meat together during the boiling or cooking and prevents the meat juices and fat being lost, and in the second place removing the ham from the holder after cooking and placing it in a separate machine to slice ofi pieces of the desired thickness. Some of these holders comprised body sections of sheet metal which was rolled up to form an enclosing cylinder but which could be opened to allow the ham to be removed, others again consisted of containers having a plate supported by a fixed bottom through which an ejecting rod could be passed to eject the plate and the ham from the other end of the container, the ham after ejectment being subsequently cut up. The work ofremoving the holder from the ham, or ejecting the ham from the container consumed a good heal of time and furthermore the meat had to be handled when removing it from the holder and placing it on a plate or in the machine for cutting off slices. Another method was to provide jars or receptacles to receive and preserve the meat which was cooked previous to inserting it in such jars or receptacles, the said jars or receptacles being provided with a plate supported by a fixed bottom through which an ejecting rod or a screwed spindle was passed to force the ham out of the mouth of the receptacle the necessary distance to permit of the desired quantity of such ham to be cut off. By this method also the work of packing the jar or receptacle with the meat previously cooked consumed a good dealof time and necessitated handling of the meat.

Now the present invention is designed to provide a compact apparatus for cooking the Serial No. 377,363.

STAT. I, 1313.)

meat and for cutting it up into slices, the arrangement being such as to absolutely avoid the hands coming into contact with the meat at all in the interval between placing the raw meat in the holder for cooking, and the production of the sliced up cooked pieces.

For the purpose of carrying my invention into practical effect a meat holder is pro- I vided comprising a body with a permanent bottom and removable lid, within which body the meat is compressed, the said body having a reinforcing member permanently attached at one end to which the bracket of a pivoted slicing knife can be removably attached in such manner that the knife will operate in a plane at right angles to the axis of the meat holder. A false bottom fits the interior of the holder at the other end upon which the meat rests, and means are provided for forcing this false bottom axially along the interior of the vessel so as to cause the meat to protrude a definite distance at the slicing knife end between each slicing operation. The apparatus includes also a cooking receptacle in which the meat packed in its holder is placed and where it remains for a suitable length of time until the cooking operation is completed, and it also includes a stand upon which the meat holder is placed when its cooked contents are required for use. By operating a handle arranged in connection with this stand the meat is protruded from the holder a definite distance, and by operating a handle arranged in connection with the knife, 2. slice is cut ofl from the meat so protruded.

The invention will be understood from the following description reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a vertical section of the meat holder together with the slicing knife and the stand which contains the mechanism for protruding the cooked meat from the holder between each slicing operation;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the holder, and Figure 3 is an inverted plan view thereof with stand a attached;

Figure 4 is a side elevation of the meat holder, and the stand on a plane at right angles to Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a sectional view on line C D of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a plan view of Figure 4: with the meat holder removed;

Figure 7 is a sectional plan view on line A B of Figure l;

Figure 8 is a half side elevation and half vertical section of the cooking receptacle with the meat holder located in situ therein, and

Figure 9 is a plan view of Figure 8.

Referring to these figures I provide a meat holding vessel (4 of any convenient shape cylindrical for example (Figures 1 to 4t). This vessel comprises a body part a of sheet tin or any other suitable material, a bottom member (L of cast or malleable metal permanently secured thereto, and an external reinforcing member or ring a at the upper end, also secured to the body in a permanent manner. The bottom member a has a central aperture in it with a central depending boss below and it is also provided with an eye piece which forms one member of the hinge e and with a depending catch 0: for the purpose hereinafter mentionec. Inside the body part a a supplementary or false bottom (0* fits exactly and rests upon the bottom a thus normally closing the centre aperture therein and preventing any loss of weight through the escape of the meat juices and fat which if permitted would spoil the flavour of the meat. A spigot member integral with this false bottom (a projects through the centre hole in the bottom end member (L The vessel (6 is filled with meat and a pressure plate a which its the vessel exactly, is placed on top of the meat (Figure 8) the extreme top of the vessel being provided with a removable cover a which is secured thereto by set screws engaging the reinforcing ring (4 A pressure screw (1. having an eye m at the top so that it can be turned by a tommy bar is screwed through the lid (0* so as to press against a spigot into the pressure plate a and compress the meat into a compact and uniform mass also expel superfluous air.

The vessel a packed with meat is then placed in a cooking receptacle 71: where it remains for a suitable length of time until the meat is properly cooked. "When the cooking operation has been completed the vessel a with the cooked meat inside is taken out of the receptacle 7: and can be kept for an indefinite period, as the meat so long as it is contained in the vessel (4 will remain perfectly fresh and it for food, and will also retain its flavour and juiciness since the loss of juice fat and the like is prevented during the cooking process. YVhen however the meat is required for use the cover at is taken off, the pressure plate a lifted out and the vessel (1. with the meat in it, is placed on a stand (Z and by means of mechanism to be described the meat is moved upwards a distance corresponding to the thickness of the slice to be cut, the upper end of the vessel forming a guide for the slicing knife. Thus it will be seen that between the time the meat is packed in the vessel (6 for cooking, and the time when the sliced meat is delivered to the consumer, it is not touched by hand.

The cooking receptacle It is considerably larger than the vessel to. It is provided with a hinged cover k and handles [a and with legs upon which it stands in an upright position, and it has in connection with it a gas ring or burner Z for heating the water in the receptacle 7c. The interior of the receptacle has a base piece or stand a for supporting the vessel a in the receptacle above the bottom thereof. This stand a has a centre cavity at the top into which spigots the centre piece which depends from the underside of the vessel a, thus holding the vessel in position.

The stand (Z (Figures 1, a, 5, 6 and 7) comprises a tubular member which by means of lateral aws and a clamping screw (Z can be clamped to a counter. Mounted on the upper end of this tubular member (Z is a table (1 which can be turned about the axis of the said member, and this table is provided with an eye which in connection with the corresponding eye at the bottom of the vessel 1 and the pin. a forms a hinge. l Vhen it is desired to cut the meat into slices a vessel (0 containing the cooked meat, is placed upright on the table so as to stand thereon, the pin a is inserted and the catch a" made to engage the opposite edge of table so that the vessel is held in position with the open end at the top ready for the meat to be exuded therefrom far enough to cut off one slice. Tn the tubular part d is journalled a rack bar 0 which is moved up intermittently by a pinion e secured to a spindle journalled in a part of the stand. Secured to this spindle f is a ratchet wheel 9, and mounted freely on the spindle is the hand lever g which is provided with a pawl By pulling the handle in one direction, motion is imparted to the pinion e which lifts the rack bar (2 and so lifts the false bottom a and raises the meat out of the vessel for a definite distance according to the angle through which the ratchet wheel has been turned, so that a slice of the meat can be cut off by the knife blade 7) which is pivotally mounted on the pin 5 In order to regulate the thickness of the slices cut off, and thus protect the vendor from cutting off the meat in slices thicker than those to be paid for by the customer, a graduated dial 7' is bolted to a part of the stand (7. This is notched. at equidistant intervals and each notch is numbered to int icate the various degrees of thickness the slices may be cut. In connection with this dial I freely mount an arm h on the spindle f this arm being provided ith a handle h and with a spring catch 73, and the hand lever g isprovided with a finger which enters the curved slot in the dial and projects into. the path of the arm 72 If therefore it is desired to slice off a piece ofmeat of a definite thickness corresponding to say the numeral l on the dial, the operator turns the arm it into such a position that the spring catch will snap into the notch immediately in advance of that numeral, and accordingly the backward and forward movement of the hand level 9 is limited at one end of its stroke by-the end of the slot, and at the other end of its stroke by the p'osi'tioninto which the arm it has been adjusted into. Each time a piece of meat has beensliced off by the knife, the ratchet wheel is turned a given distance bypulling over the hand lever to the position where it is stopped byxthe arm thus presentinganothenportion of the meat to be sliced be by the knife; theother pawl g acting as a detent to 't-he ratchet wheel during the return'motion of the hand lever 9 A bracket 6 is removably secured to the reinforcing ring a by a set-screw h which is coupled by a chain to the bracket so that it cannot get lost. The bracket carries the pivot pin 6 At one end the knife blade is'bolted by the bolt 6 tothe member 6 which is mountedon the pivot pin and secured thereon by'the milled nut At the other end the knife blade is bolted at b to the member 6 which is provided with a handle 5 by which the knife blade can e oscillated about the axis 6 so as to c off slices of meat of a thickness corresponding to the extent to which the meat protrudes from the top of the vessel a, the top of such vessel acting as a guide for the blade. The false bottom a maybe provided with a number of short pegs 0r spikes on its up per surface upon which the meat becomes impaled and which serves to hold the residue of the meat in position while cutting off the last slice or slices. The bracket 6 with its knife 6 can at any time be removed from the vessel a, and the hole 6 in the blade is made to take on to the fixed pin (Z so as toprevent the knife and its bracket getting accidentally mislaid.

The mode of operation may be briefly summarized as follows :The meat having been boned and placed in a vessel (1., the pressure plate a and cover a are placed in position and the latter screwed down so as to strongly compress and compact the meat and cause it to entirely fill up the vessel between the pressure plate a and the false bottom a In this condition the vessel a is brought to the receptacle 7: which is supplied to a suitable depth with hot water kept at boiling temperature by the burner Z and the meat in the vessel a is boiled or cooked by the heat of the water and the steam in the receptacle 0. When the co k" ing is completed the vessel a with the cooked meat inside is taken out of the receptacle and can be kept for an indefinite period and any number of these vessels a packed with cooked meat may be kept in stock ready for immediate use as required. When therefore the meat is required, the cover a is taken off one of these vessels, the pressure plate a 1 out and the vessel a with the meat in, placed upon the stand d, the hinge pin a is inserted and th spring catch a made to catch on to the table (Z so that the vessel a is held firmly in positionv The bracket Z1 with its knife 5, is fastened on by the set screw 6", and the armii set to the position required. .To cut off a slice of meat the handle pulled forward until it abuts against the stop thereby lifting the rack bar 0 and the false bottom together with the meat resting onit, and causing the latter to protrude from the top of the vessel a distance equal to the thickness of one slice. The handle 6 is now operated so as to cut off a slice from that portion of the compact body of meat that projects from the vessel a the slice being smooth and with an attractive appearance. To cut the next slice the handle is pulled back again and then forwardlyand the operation of slicing it again repeated. There is no waste inasmuch as each slice is compact and of full size from the first to the last slice. The hinge a enables the vessel (6 to be tilted towards a customer into the positionv shown by the dotted lines in Figure 1 so as .to e:':- hibit the meat contained within the ves. el a, the table d allowing also of the vessel on to be turned on the XiS 'of the tubular portion of the stand (Z This allows of the vessel being tilted'in a direction pointing towards the customer. A prop b hinged to the vessel a prevents the vessel being tilted too The spigot which projects downward from the false bottom a and which enters the central aperture in the table a keeps the axis of the meat holding vessel. a and the axis of the rack bar 0 in alignment. The central aperture in the permanent bottom of the vessel 0: may be threaded inside and arranged to screw on to the stand a in the cooking receptacle is.

I declare that what I claim is 1. An apparatus for cooking and slicing meats comprising, in combination with a slicing knife, a meat compressing vessel the upper edge of which forms a guide for the knife, a cooking receptacle in which the vessel packed with the meat is placed to be cooked or boiled, a stand for supporting the packed vessel when taken out of the cooking receptacle, and. means in connection with the stand. for raising the meat out of the vessel at the slicing knife end to a definite distance between each slicing operation.

2. In an apparatus for cooking and slicing n'ieats, a meat compressing and holding vessel, the upper part of which forms a guide for the pivoted sliding knife hereafter described, a pivoted sliding knife, means for operating this knife in a plane parallel. with the top of the meat holder, a false bottom fitting the interior of the holder, astand upon which the holder is placed when taken out of the cooltii receptacle, mechanism attacker thereto for lifting the false bottom and causing the meat to protrude from the top of the vessel between each slicing operation the distance of one slice.

3. In an apparatus for cooking and slicing meats, a meat holder comprising a body with a "manent bottom and removable lid within'w v'ch body the meat is compressed, a cooking receptacle har'i g a stand therein upon which the holder packed with the meat can be cooked or boiled, a stand for supporting the packed holder when taken out of the cooking receptacle the base of the meat compressing vessel being of such shape that it can either e supporter in the cooking receptacle during the operati of cooking the meat or upon the stand C operation of protruding the meat vessel and cutting it up into slices.

In an apparatus for cooking and slicing meats, a meat holder comprising a body having a permanent bottom and removable lid "ithin which body the meat is compressed, a cooking receptacle having a stand therein upon which the holder packed with the meat can be cooked, a stand for supporting the L acked holder when taken out of the cooking receptacle, the lid of the meat holder made removable, and the slicing knife pivoted on a bracket and operating in a plane parallel with the top of the meat holder and on the line normally abutting against the cover when the latter is in place.

5. In an apparatus for cooking and slicing meat as claimed in claim 1, a meat holder having a false bottom a stand upon which the meat holder is placed when taken out of the cooking receptacle, a rack bar journalled in'the stand, means for locking the meat holder thereto. a rod journalled in the stand the upper end of which abuts against the false bottom, and a rack and pinion gear a lever and a ratchet and pawl device for imparting an intermittent lift to the false bottom. r

in an apparatus for cooking and slicing ments as claimed in claim 2, the means for regulating the lift of the false bottom at each operation of the handle comprising an adjustable stop member which confines the stroke of the handle within limits according to the position the arm is adjusted into.

7. In an apparatus for cooking and slicing meats, a meat holder comprising a body with a nermanent bottom and removable lid I a Q within which body the meat 15 compressed,

a cooking receptacle having a stand therein upon which the holder packed with the meat can be cooked or boiled, a stand for supporting the packed holder when taken out of the cooking receptacle, the tubular member of the stand combined with a table which can be turned about the axis of the said IHGTllZBI and to which the bottom of the meat holder is hinged by a removable hinge pin in such manner as to enable the holder to be held in position on the table or removed therefrom or to be tilted towards a customer to exhibit the meat contained therein.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto ed my name this 31st day of March, W20, in the presence of two subscribing witosses.

JOHN GEORGE JONES. Vi itnesses Ham ltnnrsrnunn, J. MoLAonLAN. 

